JURASSIC WORLD is a World of Fun

Jurassic World is the fourth installment of the dinosaur adventure horror flick series that started with Jurassic Park back in 1993. Twenty years on the attraction of having creatures that went extinct over 65 million years ago brought to life onscreen is as strong as ever for moviegoers, with Jurassic World breaking the box-office record for opening weekends, bringing in $208.8 million dollars. That’s not to say there’s not a load of other gadgets and toys here in the 21^st century to distract us, and Jurassic World makes full note of that fact, with both impressive dinosaur visuals and a smart, self-aware script.

The film begins from the viewpoint of Gray and Zack Mitchell, played by Ty Simpkins and Nick Robinson, respectively, two siblings whose aunt, played by Bryce Dallas Howard, runs Jurassic World. Set on the Costa Rican island of Isla Nublar, the home of the original Jurassic Park, Jurassic World is a marvelous dinosaur-zoo resort, but you wouldn’t know it from hormone-infused older brother Zack, who would rather looks at girls and his smartphone than a T-Rex feeding. Younger brother Gray is nothing less than totally enthralled, and for fans of the original Jurassic Park film, it’s hard not to feel the same with this fantastic new incarnation of the themepark.

Cut to Owen, played by a Chris Pratt fresh off his star-making turn in Guardians of the Galaxy, a Velociraptor trainer who has been hired to test the animals’ intelligence and see if it’s possible to domesticate and control them. But the company that hired him has plans to use the Velociraptors as living weapons, much to his chagrin. Throw in the genetically engineered hybrid dinosaur Indominus Rex, and all the pieces are in place for havoc to be wreaked on the island.

What ensues is fairly predictable plot-wise, but that doesn’t means it’s not a lot of fun. Jurassic World makes seemingly endless references to the original Jurassic Park, but the new park makes for an imaginative setting for some original carnage. The characters overall are pretty flat, but it’s the dinosaurs of Jurassic World that get top-billing, and it’s safe to say they earn it.

LOVE & MERCY is a touching tribute to Beach Boys visionary Brian Wilson

The Beach Boys’ Pet Sounds stands as one of the greatest pop albums ever created, a lushly orchestrated masterpiece that exudes pure melody over ephemeral harmonies. Taking the pop sensibilities of his group’s past hits and looking deeper into the sun-drenched potential of their vocal abilities, Brian Wilson wove an intricate musical tapestry that was criminally underappreciated in its time, but that is now hailed as being a visionary influence on music, from the Beatles later albums through to today.

But while the music of Pet Sounds may be beautiful to behold, the story of its creator, the Beach Boys leader Brian Wilson, is fall less idyllic. Abused by his father, misunderstood by Beach Boys lyricist and Brian’s cousin Mike Love, and under pressure by a public that expected the Beach Boys to produce more songs about surfing, Brian was in a fragile state that led to his mental unraveling while working on Pet Sounds’ more avant-garde follow-up SMiLE.

Love & Mercy is the new bio-pic that depicts Wilson’s creative struggles as a twenty-something attempting to create his masterworks, portrayed by Paul Dano, and then as a shattered man attempting to gain his life back in middle age, portrayed by John Cusack. If this seems like an unlikely pairing, it’s because it is, but both actors manage to retain an emotional consistency throughout their performances that grounds the film as a depiction of a single man: A fragile genius whose greatest creative achievements led to the darkest chapter of his life.

With retro-styled footage, disturbed Beach Boys mash-ups tracks by Atticus Ross, and recreation of the fabled Pet Sounds recording sessions, Love & Mercy definitely offers a lot for anyone interested in the mythos of Brian Wilson’s music. But its really his personal story that is the film’s beating heart, and anyone interested in not only the music of Brian Wilson, but also the his incredible personal tale of a pop music visionary, should see Love & Mercy.